Fluid seal assembly

ABSTRACT

A fluid face seal assembly consisting of two interfitting annular members of channel cross section, one of the members carrying the face seal and the other being for mounting the assembly. A lip seal is provided between the adjacent inner walls of the members, means are provided permitting axial relative movement of the members without relative rotation, and resilient means are provided to bias the members axially apart.

United States Patent 1191 Taylor et al.

[111 3,761,100 1451 Se t. 25, 1973 FLUID SEAL ASSEMBLY [75] Inventors:Kenneth Roy Taylor, Glamorgan;

Stanley Wallace Tovey, Cardiff, both of Wales [73] Assignee: Aeroquip(U.K.) Limited, Redditch,

Worcestershire, England 22 Filed: Feb. 14, 1972 211 App]. No.2 226,180

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Feb. 17, 1971 Great Britain4,850/71 June 16, 1971 Great Britain 28,099/71 152 us. c1. 277/65,277/81 51 F16j 15/34 [58] Field of Search 277/38, 39, 4o, 65, 277/81, 85

' [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Schick 277/40 2,564,0708/1951 Krug 277/38 2,857,182 10/1958 Bain et a1 277/40 3,536,333 10/1970Gits et a1. 277/38 Primary ExamineF-George E. Lowrance AssistantExaminer-Robert L. Smith Attorney-Flynn & Frishauf [5 7] ABSTRACT Afluid face seal assembly consisting of two interfitting annular membersof channel cross section, one of the members carrying the face seal andthe other being for mounting the assembly. A lip seal is providedbetween the adjacent inner walls of the members, means are providedpermitting axial relative movement of l the members without relativerotation, and resilient means are provided to bias the members axiallyapart.

10 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures 1 FLUID SEAL ASSEMBLY This inventionrelates to a fluid seal assembly.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with the present invention, afluid seal assembly includes a first annular member of channel shapedcross section having a radial base, an inner axial wall formed as a lipseal, and an outeraxial wall for engagement with a housing, a secondannular member of channel shaped cross section having an outer walladjacent the inner surface of the outer wall of the first member, a baseremote from the base of the first member and provided with an annularface seal and an inner wall engaged by the lip seal, the assembly alsoincluding means on adjacent walls of the members cooperating to permitaxial movement without rotation between the members, and resilient meansmounted between the two members to bias the members apart.

Said means may comprise lugs on the inner surface of the outer wall ofthe first member engaging grooves in the outer wall of the secondmember.

Bias means may be provided to load the lip seal.

Preferably the bias means includes a garter spring or circlip.

The bias means may include a member seated on the base of the firstmember and having resilient fingers loading the lip seal. 1

The outer surface of the outer axial wall may be circumferentiallycorrugated.

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way ofexample, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is .a part sectional elevation of a first seal according to thepresent invention; and

FIG. 2 is a part sectional elevation of a second seal according to thepresent invention.

Referring now to FIG. '1 of the drawings, a rotary pump seal 50 is shownin half section. The seal 50 is made of two basic members 51 and 52, theformer being for location in a hole in a housing and the latter having asealing face 53 for engagement with a relatively rotating flange orother member. The seal is annular and defines a central passage 55 for adrive shaft.

The first annular member 51 is basically channel shaped in cross sectionhaving a base 57 radially disposed with respect to the seal axis and twoaxial walls 58 and 59.

The second annular member 52 is also channel shaped in cross sectionhaving a radial base 61 and two axial walls 62 and 63 which are locatedwithin the inner circumferences of the walls 58 and 59 respectively, thebase 61 being remote from the base 57.

Resilient means, in this embodiment a coil compression spring 65, ismounted between the bases 57 and 61 to bias the members 51 and 52 apart.

The member 51, made of elastomeric material, is provided with a rigidinsert 66 in this embodiment made ofmetal which reinforces the base57and outer wall 58 of the member and also an external flange 67 providedat the end of the wall 58 remote from the base 57. The outer surface 68of the outer wall 58 is circumferentially corrugated to ensure adequatesealing with the surface of any of a number of mounting holes which,although of the same nominal size, may vary in size because of differenttolerances.

The inner surface 73 of the wall 58 is formed with equispaced lugs 56which cooperate with recesses in the outer wall 62 of the second member52, thus permitting axial movement without relative rotation between themembers 51 and 52. a

The inner surface 73 of the inner wall 59 is also formed as a lip seal74 engaging the outer surface 76 of the inner wall 63 of the member 52.A garter spring 77 assists in suitably loading the seal 74.

The face seal 53, provided on the base 61 of the member 52 is finishedflat and smooth. I

In use, the seal 50 is used with a rotary pump, the member 51 beingmounted in ah ole in a casing with the flange 67 overlyingtheout'er'surface of the casing. The shaft of the rotary pump passesaxially through the seal and carries a radial flange against which theface seal 53 abuts under the bias of the spring 65, any variation of theflange on the shaft from its nominal position being automaticallycompensated for by relative axial movement of the members 51 and 52; Asshown in the drawing, pressure is high above the seal compared with thatbelow, and the space between the members 51 and 52 is subjected to thehigh pressure. Thus the lip seal 74 is loaded against the wall 63 of themember 52 by the natural resilience of the wall .59, by the spring 77,and by the fluid pressure acting on the outer surface of the wall 59.Thus the higher the pressure of the fluid the greater the loadingon thelip seal 74, thus ensuring no leakage past the seal. Of course, noleakage takesplace between the face seal 53 and the shaft flange orbetween the number 51. and the casing. It should also be noted that theforce applied to the face seal 53 is only that of the spring 54 as theequal fluid pressures above and below the member 52 act oversubstantially equal areas producing a minimum net force on the seal.

The embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2 is identical with that of FIG. 1except that the garter spring 77 has been replaced by a biasing memberof metal or plastics material. The member 85 consists of an annular base86 and resilient fingers 87 upstanding from the base 86 to bias the wall59 inwardly, i.e., to load the seal 74. The base 86 is retained inposition against the base 57 by the end of the spring 65 which is seatedon the base 86.

Modifications may be made to the embodiments described. For example inboth embodiments means may be provided to limit the outward axialmovement of the members 51 and 52. This may take the form of acontinuous rim 90 on the wall 62 engaging an internal lip 91 on the wall58 (See FlG.1). This causes no problems during assembly of the sea] asthe rim may be readily sprung past the lips and yet holds the componentparts of the-seal together when the seal is not installed. Also, thegarter spring of FIG. 1 may be replaced by a circlip. Moreover, insteadof being mounted in a stationary body to engage a rotating flange, theseal may be by providing the lug and recess formation between the walls59 and 63 beneath the lip seal 74.

We claim:

l. A fluid seal assembly including a first annular member of channelshaped cross section having a radial base, an inner axial wall formed asa lip seal, and an outer axial wall for engagement with a housing, asecond annular member of channel shaped cross section having an outerwall adjacent the inner surface of the outer wall of the first member, abase remote from the base of the first member and provided with anannular face seal, and an inner wall engaged by the lip seal, theassembly also including means on adjacent walls of the memberscooperating to permit axial movement without rotation between themembers, and resilient means mounted between the two members to bias themembers apart.

2. A fluid seal assembly as claimed in claim 1, in which the first saidmeans comprises lugs on the. inner surface of the outer wall of thefirst member engaging grooves in the outer wall of the second member.

3. A fluid seal assembly as claimed in claim 1, in which bias means areprovided to load the lip seal.

' which the bias means includes a member seated on the base of the firstmember and having resilient fingers loading the lip seal.

6. A fluid seal assembly as claimed in claim 1, in which the outersurface of the outer axial wall is circumferentially corrugated.

7. A fluid seal assembly as claimed in claim 1, including means forlimiting the outward axial movement of the second member relative to thefirst.

8. A fluid seal assembly as claimed in claim 1, including means forflushing out the interior space between the two members.

9. A fluid seal assembly as claimed in claim 3, in which the bias meanscomprises a circlip.

10. A fluid seal assembly as claimed in claim 2, in

which bias means are provided to load the lip seal.

l II!

1. A fluid seal assembly including a first annular member of channelshaped cross section having a radial base, an inner axial wall formed asa lip seal, and an outer axial wall for engagement with a housing, asecond annular member of channel shaped cross section having an outerwall adjacent the inner surface of the outer wall of the first member, abase remote from the base of the first member and provided with anannular face seal, and an inner wall engaged by the lip seal, theassembly also including means on adjacent walls of the memberscooperating to permit axial movement without rotation between themembers, and resilient means mounted between the two members to bias themembers apart.
 2. A fluid seal assembly as claimed in claim 1, in whichthe first said means comprises lugs on the inner surface of the outerwall of the first member engaging grooves in the outer wall of thesecond member.
 3. A fluid seal assembly as claimed in claim 1, in whichbias means are provided to load the lip seal.
 4. A fluid seal assemblyas claimed in claim 3, in which the bias means comprises a garterspring.
 5. A fluid seal assembly as claimed in claim 3, in which thebias means includes a member seated on the base of the first member andhaving resilient fingers loading the lip seal.
 6. A fluid seal assemblyas claimed in claim 1, in which the outer surface of the outer axialwall is circumferentially corrugated.
 7. A fluid seal assembly asclaimed in claim 1, including means for limiting the outward axialmovement of the second member relative to the first.
 8. A fluid sealassembly as claimed in claim 1, including means for flushing out theinterior space between the two members.
 9. A fluid seal assembly asclaimed in claim 3, in which the bias means comprises a circlip.
 10. Afluid seal assembly as claimed in claim 2, in which bias means areprovided to load the lip seal.